She closed her hands into fists and tried to pull them away. “’Tis nae anything for ye to be concerned over.”
“Ye are my wife, so yer injuries are a thing for me to be concerned over. How did ye do this?” Heat swept through him as he thought about someone hurting her.
“I did it to myself,” she said, trying to tug her wrists from his grasp.
“Explain,” he commanded, and because he definitely needed to know if there was someone at this castle he needed to protect her from, he added, “with the whole truth.”
When she stole a glance at him from under her lashes, he leveled her with the look he reserved for his men who were not doing as he wished. Her nostrils flared, and she went rigid before his eyes. He hated to be the cause of such a reaction, but he had to ensure she was safe.
“Ye ordered me to bathe, and I needed water for the tub,” she said with a seemingly nonchalant shrug, but her pained expression belied the gesture.
“Why did ye nae simply ask the servants to fetch the water for ye?” he asked, wondering how many trips it had taken her from the kitchens to her bedchamber to carry up enough water needed for a bath.
“I—” Her gaze shot down to her feet. He’d have to remember her feet were particularly interesting to her when she was trying to hide something. It was not the first time that she’d studied them as if her slippers had precious stones embedded in them. Then her hand went to her hair, and she began to wind a long, ebony lock between her thumb and forefinger. Another telling sign that she wished to conceal a truth but was nervous about it. “I did nae wish to bother them.”
He cupped her chin and brought her face up so he could read the truth in her eyes. “Did ye ask them?”
“What’s that?” She cupped her hand to her ear. “Oh! Silas says we really must go in now.” And then she whipped around faster than he’d known she could move, dashed around him, and bolted through the great hall door.
He wanted to scowl at her obstinacy, but he grinned. Like a clot-heid. Like a man who might care. He forced the grin away by pressing his lips together and stared at the door. He should have stopped her. He could have, yet he had restrained himself. Why? Simple, he decided immediately. He did not want a simpering wife, and she’d shown bravery. There was no other reason he’d been so soft with her.Absolutely none. Any thought that there might be was savagely blocked. He took a deep breath. Tomorrow would be time enough to get to the bottom of what was occurring with Patience.
